OLG’s myopic perspective on casinos

The firing of Paul Godfrey is just the latest in the unravelling of his “modernization” plan, which would have located 29 casinos in population centres across Ontario. As communities examined the “opportunity” for a casino, three things became clear. First, the amount of money leaving a “host” community would greatly exceed the meagre returns flowing back. Second, the majority of casino revenues would be extracted from the local community. Money would be redirected principally from the leisure and entertainment sectors, which would be unfairly hit with substantial revenue and job loss. Third, the number of jobs created by a casino would be considerably less than the number lost by the economic drain locally.

A full economic analysis was completed in relation to Waterloo Region, and quantified each of the above points. OLG has not disputed the numbers. It is no surprise that the option of hosting a casino was rejected by the municipal councils in Cambridge, Waterloo and by a unanimous vote in Kitchener.

OLG is guilty of focusing only on an inflow of cash to host communities, which it steadfastly refused to specify, and hiding the other side of the ledger — the one showing the net outflow of cash and jobs. This myopic perspective has been picked up by various politicians, including Rob Ford. Had the modernization plan gone ahead, the Ontario economy would have been drained of an additional $3.2 billion in order to turn over $1.3 billion to government coffers.

It appears as though Kathleen Wynne has come to appreciate this big picture, and has rightfully stepped in to put the brakes on. She now needs to increase gambling revenues from the current system — it remains the least efficient in Canada — while reducing the harm it inflicts on hundreds of thousands of Ontario citizens.